Vauxhall tempts buyers with 'free' £2,200 insurance offer

British car maker Vauxhall is hoping to increase sales of one of its most popular vehicles, the Corsa, by offering buyers free insurance for the first year.

Any driver aged 21 to 75 who has held their driving licence for at least one year, and registers a model between now and March 31, will get the free "comprehensive" cover with Vauxhall Insurance Services.

Younger drivers, who typically face the highest premiums, could save up to £2,200, Vauxhall said.

While it didn't say how many drivers it expected to take up the offer, the manufacturer sold 21,305 Corsas last year, which means if repeated this year it would shift around 5,000 units by the end of March.

The cars typically cost around £10,000 brand-new.

The deal comes as Britain's automotive industry faces a tough time with the number of new car registrations tumbling, due to a combination of growing uncertainty about the economy’s health, confusion over the Government’s stance on diesel, and higher vehicle taxes.

Investment in the car sector last year fell from £1.7bn in 2016 to £1.1bn in 2017 – a 33pc drop.

The decline comes after a record year for the UK’s £77.5bn-a-year car industry, with 2.7 million new cars being driven off dealers’ forecourts in 2016, the fifth successive year of growth.

Vauxhall announced last month that it plans to axe a further 250 jobs at its Ellesmere Port plant, on top of the 400 positions it said would go in October, as new French owner PSA Group streamlines operations.

PSA said falling demand for hatchbacks such as the Vauxhall Astra and greater production costs in the UK – which it said were “significantly higher” than other plants in the group – were behind the decision.